There are many things that make games good as I said in my previous post. But one of the more intangible things is innovation. The thing that made Magnificent Gizmos & Gadgets on the iPhone so cool was that there were dozens of ways to go about solving each puzzle. Another was that it just gave you the tools and let you make your own fun sort of.
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On a phone interview today someone asked me what I think makes a game good. It was an easy question that I spoke at length on and thought I would share here.
A game is more than just a sum of its pieces to me. The major pieces of each game include graphics, sound, control, gameplay, fun and value. These are the major facets that I see in a game. Of course some of them are fluid and can change. For example a game might have crap single player action but the most awesome multiplayer. That’s sort of sad really because it shows not only that the developers didn’t take the time to balance but that perhaps they are a little out of touch with their customers, us, the gamers.
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I had originally written this for a project which unfortunately fell through. So I thought I would publish it here since I rather liked the article.
Mars has been the goal of many a science fiction author and fan alike. From Athanasius Kircher to Ben Bova, Mars has been the focus of hundreds of stories. Even H.G. Wells and C.S. Lewis wrote about it. Film, books, television, comics and of course, computer games have all featured Mars as a central location.
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